Floor mat



| Moss FLOOR MAT Filed Feb. e. 1967 FIG. 2

May 20, 1969 mvENToR Louls a. Moss ATTORNEYS United States Patent O3,445,083 FLOOR MAT Louis Moss, 56 Deepdale Drive, Great Neck, N.Y.11021 Filed Feb. 9, 1967, Ser. No. 614,908 Int. Cl. F16m 11/20 U.S. Cl.248-350 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A floor protecting fiat mathaving a downwardly curved peripheral edge that extends at leastpartially below the bottom surface of the mat, for placement in heavywear areas or under furniture.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This applicationrelates to a mat for use under chairs to protect the flooring materialon which the chair is located, and more particularly, to a chair mathaving improved characteristics with regard to edge configuration andmovement when used on carpeting.

Description f the prior art `Chair mats as previously known havegenerally been formed of a flat piece of pressed board, rubber, orplastic shaped to protect flooring material in a particular location andhave been provided with a rounded peripheral edge. The type of edgewhich was commonly associated with such mats is called bullnose Thistype of edge is rounded at the top and bottom of the mat to formessentially a half circle, with the center of the circle equidistantfrom the top and bottom surfaces of the mat.

Chair mats have also been made having an edge in the form of a quartercircle. The circle is tangent to the top surface of the mat on which thechair or other object is placed and is perpendicular to the floormaterial at its opposite extremity. The bottom surface of such mats aretotally fiat to the exterior edges of the mat.

In addition to the above-described prior art mats, mats have also beenmade having a beveled edge with the thin edge or the bevel at the lowersurface of the mat. In addition, combinations of the above edges,commonly called patterned shapes, have been also employed.

All of the mats previously used have tended to slip on carpeting whensubjected to a horizontal component of force caused by walking on themat or by movement of a chair or chair on casters across the top surfaceof the mat. In addition, when a mat having a flat bottom configurationis used on carpeting, a weight located near the center of the mat suchas caused by a chair or other object results in the edge of the matrising from the carpeting surfaces. The edge can prove hazardous topersons crossing the perimeter of the mat, possibly resulting in aperson tripping and injuring himself.

The prior art chair mats have also been vulnerable to breakage of theiredges due to the thin configuration of the rounded edge. This chippageor lbreakage results in an impaired appearance and also tends togradually erode the mat when it is of pressed board. Further, thechipped edge may also tend to create an uneven surface, resulting intripping as the surface is crossed. On cast acrylic mats the edgechipping may lead to a concentration of stress from which a crack orsplit may develop, destroying the useability of such a mat.

SUMMARY The chair mat of my invention eliminates the disadvantages ofthe prior art mats and has several additional ad- Mice vantages. Apreferred embodiment of my chair mat may be made of plastic, pressedboard, or other suitable material having stability and strength whenformed into a at, relatively thin sheet. The material of the mat mayhave a rough or smooth texture as desired and may be colored to match orcontrast with the iiooring material that it will be placed upon.

The flat material used in the manufacture of my mat may be cut into anydesired configuration, A T shaped configuration has the advantage ofproviding a large portion of its area behind a desk where the wheels orcasters of a chair are located. The leg of the T projects under the deskand protects the iiooring material under the desk from wear by the feetof a person sitting in a chair located on the mat. Other shapes may alsobe employed, such as oval or rectangular. The conguration chosen isdependent on the location where the mat is to be used and may beselected to provide the maximum protection for the area of use.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention the edge of the mat iscurved downwardly around the entire periphery of the mat so that aportion of the edge lies below the bottom surface of the mat. 'I'he edgemay be curved in the molding step of the mat or may be the result oflater operations performed on the sheet material. The downwardlyprojecting edge is smoothly curved to prevent injury to the flooringsurface on which the mat is placed. The edge is of suliiicent dimensionsto provide a strong rigid rib around the lower outer edge of the mat.

The projecting edge of the mat is curved in a manner that will allow itto dig into the carpeting surface, thereby preventing sliding of the matacross the carpet. Further, the mat of my construction reduces trippingat the edge of the mat, since when a load is placed on the center of themat the downwardly projecting edge rises but does not allow a space toform between the mat edge and the carpeting surface. The gradual curveof the edge also tends to reduce any projections that might otherwisecontribute to tripping.

In addition to the above advantages the edge of my mat is `stronger andmore rigid than the prior art mat. The curved edge, because of itsincreased rigidity, reduces warpage of the mat.

The curved edge of my mat reduces the tendency of the mat edge to chipwhen impacted by an object striking it. This improvement is accomplishedthrough the fact that a curved surface is presented to the foot or otherstriking object rather than a sharp or even sharply curved edge.

Other advantages of my mat include the use of thinner material for themat because of the increased rigidity caused by the edge of my inventionand the fact that the top surface of the mat is closer to the flooringsurface due to its thin configuration. The latter improvement furtherreduces tripping across the edge of the mat and permits easier movementof a chair or other article of furniture on and olf the top surface ofthe mat.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS My invention will be explained in greater detailbelow and in the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the chair mat of my invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross section along line 2--2 of the mat shown in FIG. l.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, a chair mat 1of my invention in one preferred form is generally T shaped and isformed of plastic, pressed board material or other suitable materialcapable of being formed into a relatively fiat thin sheet having impactresistance. The sheet material used for the mat may be cut to therequired configuration from a larger section or may be originally formedin a shape approximating the nal item. The material of the mat should beof suliicient thickness to withstand impacts of a chair or other item offurniture and the impacts of a person walking on its surface. Further,the material `should have sufficient abrasion resistance to withstandscuffing and other wear caused by casters on a chair and by the feet.

The leg 2 of chair mat 1 is designed to be located under a desk,providing protection for the carpet or other flooring surface under thedesk. The top bar 3 of the T shaped mat is designed to be parallel tothe back of the desk and provide a surface for the casters of the chair.

As shown in FIGURE 2, mat 1 has a peripheral edge 4 which is bentdownwardly and grips carpet 5 on which it is placed. The depending lip 4is so designed as to have at least some portion lower than the bottomsurface 6 of the mat. This causes lip 4 to dig into the carpetingsurface and provides resistance to movement of the mat when a forceparallel to the surface of the mat is applied to it. In addition, thelip 4 strengthens the edge of the mat providing resistance to torsionalmovement of the mat thereby reducing cracking of the mat and the unevensurface thereby produced.

The lip 4 is provided with a gradually curved outer surface 7 whichforms a gentle rise from the carpet surface to the top of the mat. Thecurved surface will begin below the upper surface of the carpet, sincethe weight of the mat will press the depending edge of lip 4 into thecarpet 5. The smooth incline thus formed will reduce any tendency of theedge to catch a heel or toe of a person crossing the periphery. Inaddition, the curved surface will facilitate the movement on and off ofthe mat of an object to be placed on it, such as a chair.

The size of the lip 4 to be provided in my mat is determined by the typeof material that the mat will be used on. For instance, if the mat isdesigned for use on a heavy pile carpeting, then a deep lip should beprovided. If, on the other hand, the mat is to be used on tile orlow-pile carpeting, a lip of smaller size should be used. The lip 4 ofmy invention is also provided with a rounded outer edge 8 to reducemarring of oor surface and prevent breakage of the edge.

The lip 4 may be formed by any conventional technique. A flat piece ofmaterial forming the mat can be pressed with conventional moldingtechniques to form an edge. Alternatively, entire mat may, if desired,be molded in a single operation to form both the mat and edge. Inaddition, it is possible to attach a separate edge to a mat 4 in such amanner as to join the two pieces into a single unit. The latter methodallows a basic mat to be altered for use with various size edges for avariety of surfaces as indicated above.

Although I have illustrated a T shaped mat, it is to be Iunderstood thatoval, rectangular or free form mats are possible employing my inventiveconcept. For instance, oval mats may be used under a table or other itemwhich is located near the center of the room.

1t is to 4be understood that the particular configuration of mat shownmay be varied to any desired plan configuration, and the embodimentshown is merely by way of illustration.

What is claimed is:

1. A protective floor mat for use upon soft flooring, comprising: asheet of predetermined flexibility having a substantially planar portionwhen unstressed with a preselected outline, said planar portionincluding an upper bearing surface for receiving the weight of an objectplaced thereupon and a lower surface for engaging underlying portions ofthe ooring over substantially its entire area when so weighted, therebydistributing said weight over said area; and means for inhibitingmovement of the mat with respect to the ooring, comprising an integrallyformed downwardly projecting peripheral edge portion extending belowlsaid lower surface and forming an extension of said planar portion forfrictionally engaging said flooring, outermost portions of saidperipheral edge being rounded and extending below the uppermost portionsof the soft ooring when in use, said downwardly projecting edgeextending curvilinearly from the upper bearing surface of the mat tosaid outermost portions of said peripheral edge.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 198,412 12/ 1877 Palmer 24S-346.11,563,700 12/ 1925 Frakenstein 24S- 188.9 XR 3,184,195 5/1965 Wahl et al248-346 XR 3,333,805 8/1967 Marshall 24S- 188.9

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Primary Examiner.

JOHN PETO, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 24S-188.9

